It's been a while
But listen, I haven't played Off in a while, but I recently picked it back up. I may be super late to this party, but listen.
It all makes so much sense for it to be a hospital.
Each zone, is a different wing.
And each zone guardian is that floor's security or even that floor's head doctor.
The Judge and all other cats? Are therapy cats for the patients.
Zacharie is a nurse who wears different masks based on what floor he's on. And it makes sense because he's got all the stuff, he runs a shop. (You can either take it as him selling on the side or he is honestly just a nurse. I think it just makes him a nurse)
Things just add up.
And Hugo, is kinda obviously dying already. So what if he's on life support and the whole thing has been one Father's mission to "kill," his son.
Everyone is attached, but the quality of life his kid is gonna have has driven The Batter to near insanity, and that's why we see things from such a fucked up perspective.
So, tying into the end. The Switch is now Off? The son is now gone. That can be why the colors fade, as you near the end of the game. Because Hugo, is dying/dead (it's been a very long time and I've played through half the game before remembering this idea.)
I dont know if this has been explained before, but this has been bugging me because I never really shared it.
There was a lot more originally that I had evidence for, but I'm gonna keep the thread.